The people of Halifax are the honoured guests when the Piece Hall re-opens on Yorkshire Day

Nicky Chance-Thompson at the Piece Hall

Published:08:00Saturday 29 July 2017

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There will be several stars on show when Halifax’s Piece Hall opens on Yorkshire Day - Tuesday, August 1 - but they are all born and bred in the town, and you may well be one of them.

The building itself was opened in 1779 through the efforts of its subscribers, whose contributions helped build the now Grade I structure, and John Caygill, who made the land available and charged a very reasonable rent, and once again Halifax’s people take centre stage following its £19 million upgrade to give it a firm 21st century role.

Trading will begin when Halifax’s own para-athlete world champion Hannah Cockroft rings the refurbished trading bell at 10am to signal the start of the new era.

And the third star will be the Halifax public itself - with the gates set to open at 9.30am for the expected crowds to get the first proper look at the latest incarnation of a wonderful part of Halifax’s heritage.

Nicky Chance Thompson, chief executive of The Piece Hall Trust, said: “The Piece Hall is a much-loved building here in Halifax and we wanted to welcome local people first, to see for themselves the work that has been undertaken to transform this major piece of our heritage into a stunning part of our future.

“Our Yorkshire Day event is all about giving the building back to the people after being closed for so long.

“There will be lots to do on the opening day with a free festival of events featuring local, regional and international artists kicking off in mid-August and running throughout the summer.

“But, as the building itself is so special, we wanted to give people the chance to see and explore the transformed Piece Hall before the major events start.”

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